Ascent of Argus Peak on 1999-02-26

Ascent Trip Report

The peak and range take their name from the Argus Mining District. In Greek legend, Argus had 100 eyes and was the guardian of Io, beautiful daughter of the king of Argos. (Hanna, p. 16)

The peak is in the eastern part of land owned by the Naval Air Weapons Center, China Lake. The east side approach is well away from any Range activities and the peak has been climbed regularly for many years.

From the mining town of Trona drive north on highway 178 to the signed and paved Homewood Canyon Road on your left. This is about 6.4 miles north of the Inyo County Line sign. Turn left (west) and drive 4.9 miles west to the end of the pavement by the Ruth Mine. Continue another 3/4 mile through a short washed-out section where high-clearance is needed to a large cleared area below a hill. Park here or adventurous 4wd vehicles can go south up the steep grade, over a ridge, and down into Crow Canyon. At the bottom turn right and proceed about 0.3 miles to the end of the road above a wash. From here hike across the wash, note the NWC sign, and climb the steep, sandy hill heading southwest. There is a use trail up the ridge most of the way. There is a slight drop beyond bump 5216 ft. and then proceed up toward the rocky summit of 6163 ft. shown on the map. The route may be ducked and it is best to stay to the right side to avoid large boulders. There is some scrambling to reach the flat area on top. Past point 6163 there is a slight drop to a broad-sandy saddle before another climb to the final summit area. From the saddle turn more to the west and go up a drainage which avoids most of the large boulders on your left. The ascent takes about 2 1/2 hours over the 2.3 mile route from the NWC sign. The elevation gain is about 2600 ft. 2/99 RLC